No, Ebola is NOT Coming to the U.S.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in size and geographic scope. But contrary to what the media suggests, it is definitely not coming to the United States. Bob talks with Dr. Daniel Bausch, an expert on the Ebola virus, about what the media keeps missing.

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Bob Larkins
from Ephrata PA

I listened to the On the Media interview from August with Dr. Bausch about Ebola. His comments were accurate as far as they went, but the headline on this page and the flat-out statement in the written introduction that ebola is definitely not coming to the United States have proved inaccurate. Absolute negatives in science and health stories ought to be used with caution.

Thank you for this segment! As the Director of Safety for a major airline, the panic that the sentimentalization by the news outlets has fostered has made my job exponentially more difficult and in some cases deflected attention away from other things me and my team need to be confused on. Having this rational reporting reflects exactly what I have been complaining about regarding the over blown coverage from the other news outlets... THANK YOU, we need more news like NPR on the air, unfortunately I think it is moving the other directly.

Indifference to health inequality ticking time bomb for the haves in a world increasingly connected to and dependent on the "have-nots". Surveillance is essential and intelligent allocation of resources for this vital yet invisible health care infrastructure should be part of Americans' awareness of what is really necessary for affordable health care. The NYC DOH should be applauded for issuing reasonable guidelines for assessing travelers for ebola risk. NYC is home to many west African expats who go back for summer vacation. NYC has a large west African expatriate community and many trace home for summer vacation. Further some women come to NYC hospitals from other countries and deliver their babies in the US. Such individuals,especially those presenting with fever, need to be questioned about possible exposure to a syndrome compatible with ebola. Ebola risk outside west Africa will be greatly diminished by our collective commitment to the communities now hardest hit. Vigilance, and the resources to support intelligent vigilance outside the epidemic region, has role in combatting this and future health threats.

Dr. Dan Bausch is a highly valued colleague, friend, and former student of mine at Tulane University in New Orleans. Listening to this interview enhances my esteem for his level-headed assessment of the Ebola threat, and for his courageous personal involvement in the effort to contain this lethal virus transmission in West Africa. A surveillance system for emerging viruses (like Lassa Fever) that Dr. Bausch helped create in this region more than a decade ago has played a powerful role in managing the current outbreak.